American airline United Airlines has banned 33-year-old Francisco Severo Torres from using the airline after he allegedly tried to stab a flight attendant in the neck with a broken metal spoon three times and attempted to open an emergency exit door during a flight from Los Angeles to Boston on Monday.
According to CNN reports, Torres was arrested at Boston Logan International Airport on Monday and will remain detained pending a hearing set for Thursday as he faces one charge of interference and attempted interference with flight crew members and attendants using a dangerous weapon.
The US Justice Department said the flight crew saw an alarm that a door in the plane had been disarmed and, after inspection, a flight attendant saw the door’s locking handle had been pushed out of the fully locked position and an emergency slide arming lever had been disarmed during the flight.
It said that a flight attendant who saw Torres near the door went to talk to Torres about the door and Torres asked if there were cameras showing he had tampered with the door. The flight attendant then notified the captain that they believed Torres posed a threat to the aircraft and that the captain needed to land it as soon as possible.
It is also reported that Torres allegedly got out of his seat, mouthing something, before thrusting “towards one of the flight attendants in a stabbing motion with a broken metal spoon, hitting the flight attendant in the neck area three times”. The day was saved by passengers on the flight tackling Torres, who was immediately taken into custody after the flight landed.
United revealed that the flight landed safely without any reported injuries.
“Thanks to the quick action of our crew and customers, one customer was restrained after becoming a security concern on United flight 2609 from Los Angeles to Boston.
“We have zero tolerance for any type of violence on our flights, and this customer will be banned from flying on United pending an investigation. We are co-operating with law enforcement in their investigation,” said United Airlines.
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